Last.



M. HILG'BRT.

LAST.

APPLICATION FILED JUNE 8. 1914.

1,120,490. Patented Dec. 8. 1914.

nnrrnn sra'ras earner caries.

MATHEW HILGERT, OF NEW YORK, N. Y.

LAST.

Application filed June 8, 1914.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, MATHEW HILGERT, a citizen of the United States, and resident of the borough of Manhattan, city, county, and State of New York, have invented certain Improvements in Lasts, of which the following description, in connection with the accompanying drawings, is a specification, like reference characters on the drawings indicating like parts in the several figures.

This invention relates to lasts.

More especially it relates to lasts adapted for use in the process of making shoes set forth in an application filed. by me concurrently herewith.

In practising this process, a last of unusual construction is required on which to make the shoe, as will be explained more fully hereinafter, and it is the primary object of the present invention to produce the required last.

Referring now to the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a plan View of-a form which preferably is used in practising this process; Fig. 2 is an angular view showing the bottom of the form illustrated in Fig. 1; Fig. 3 is an angular view similar to Fig. 2 but showing a tiller secured on the bottom of the form; Fig. i is an angular view of the filler illustrated in Fig. 3, but showing the filler in an incomplete state; Fig. 5 is an angular view of the bottom of the filler shcwn n Fig. 4; and Fig. 6-is a view in' side elevation of the required last.

In making the required last, it is first necessary to make a model from which to make the last. I prefer to make this model by first making a foot-shaped form or last similar to an ordinary last but having its bottom face shaped to conform to the more prominent projections and depressions of the foot; Such a form is shown at 2 in Figs. 1 and 2 of the drawings, from which it will be seen that the form has substantially the lateral, instep and upper surfaces of a last made for a substantially normal foot, but the bottom face includes a well rounded heel 4, an arch surface 6 deeper than that usual in the ordinary last but substantially like that of a normal foot, and a forcpart surface nearly flat but with a slightly rounded portion or protuberance at 8 corresponding to the joint of the great toe. The ex tent to which the detailed duplicationof the features of the bottom of the foot are carried out can be varied as circumstances Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Dec. 8, 1e14,,

Serial No. 843,726.

require; but ordinarily, in making a form of a given size, only the more prominent features of the foot, which will not vary to any great degree in the majority of feet of the same size, will be reproduced in the form. This form, therefore, is made of the dnnensions and shape required to construct a shoe for a substantially normal foot of a given size, but diiiers from the usual last of the same size and style in its bottom contour. The form 2 having been completed, I next Inake a filler 10. This filler or a substantial duplicate of it later will be used in the shoeto be made on the last produced by this process. The filler 10 is made to fit the bottom of the form 2 and is shown in Figs. 1 and 5 in an incomplete state for the leather 12 of the shape required to fit the bottom of the form 2, tempering it and then sequring it to the form with tacks until it has dried to the. shape of the form. A rand 14 is then glued around the heel part of the leather piece 12 and a piece 16 of felt or similar material is glued to the forepart, this felt being first given the desired shape, as for in stance by running it through a splitting machine equipped-with a suitably shaped die roll or by using a suitable templet in connection witlr the splitting machine, as will be readily understood by those. famiiiar with such machines. According to this method, the filler is made on the bottom of the form and the parts 14 and 16 are shaped to give to the upper surface of the filler a contour conforming to that of the bottom of the formywhich contour will be retained after the filler is removed from the form. The lower surface of the filler may be given any desired shape, but preferably is shaped like the bottom of an ordinary last. If the lower surface of the filler is rough or uneven it should be scoured or treated in a similar manner to level it up. Inasmuch as most feet have a slight outside roli or a tendency to bear too heavily on the outer edge of the foot, I prefer to make theouier' edge of the filler 10 of greater average thickness than the inner edge in order to compensate for or correct this tendency. This result is accomplished in the filter shown by shaping the felt memhaving a substantially permanent shape, is-

made of material that might yield sufficiently under the pressure of the model Wheel of the last turning lathe to prevent the lathe from making an exact reproduction of the model, I prefer to reinforce the filler. This may conveniently be done by soaking the filler in some hot liquid composition that becomes firm and solid when cooled to ordinary temperatures. I find that a very satisfactory composition for this purpose can be obtained by mixing 811- per cent.

of Malayan gum'with 12:} per cent. 'of ozokerite and (Siper cent. of iwlontan wax. This composition may be easily melted and the filler, when soaked in it and allowed to cool, will be found to be practically as firm as a piece of wood. This method of reinforcing the filler has the further advantage that it doesnot change the dimensions of the filler and, consequently, does not modify the form or dimensions of the model. The filler made for the purpose of making the model from which to turn the last may, if desired, be made of materials other than those specified such for instance as leather or fiber or some material that is suiiiciently firm and unyielding to require no reinforcement, but still can be given the required shape. The

. model is now complete, consisting of the form 2 and the filler 10 secured thereto, the filler, ifmade of yielding material, preferably being reinforccd as above described. T he required last can now be obtained from this model with the aid of the usual last making machinery simply by following the well-known method of making a last from a model. The last produced in the manner an accuracy impossible with ordinary readymade shoes. It has been considered possible heretofore to make such shoes only by hand; but by first making a last according to the process above described, such shoes can then be made by modern shoe making machinery and at only a slightly greater cost than that of manufacturing a standard shoe of the same quality.

It is obvious that a metal last can be made from the model above described in the usual manner;

The novel process of making shoes described herein is claimed in my application Ser. No. 843,727, filed June 8, 1914:, and is not claimed in the present application. The novel process of making the last described herein is claimed in my application Ser. No. 856,423, filed Aug. 12, 1914, and is not claimed herein.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is:

As a new article of manufacture, a last so made as to correspond in shape and dimensions with a last made for the foot with its bottom faceshaped to conform to the bottom of the foot plus a filler having one face shaped to conform to the bottom of the latter last and the other face shaped like the bottom of an ordinary last, the bottom of the former last being sufiiciently rigid to withstand the pressure of the usual leveling and heeling machines.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

MATHEW HILGERT.

lVitnvsses J onN H. MCCREADY, vvlLLlAM B. KING. 

